Toronto Mayoral candidate Dr. Bahira Abdulsalam, a professional engineer, is facing a disciplinary proceeding before the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) Discipline Committee regarding online commentary concerning the Israel-Hamas War and domestic social issues.
The regulatory scrutiny follows a complaint to the committee initiated by the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF) concerning multiple social media posts published by Abdulsalam that allegedly praised the October 7, 2023 attacks.
CAEF Board member Michael Teper also wrote a complaint to the Toronto District School Board, where Abdulsalam was a member of the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee. Teper highlighted social media posts from November 2023 in which Abdulsalam accused Israelis of stealing organs and corpses from Palestinians.
"Criminals, they not only killed them but also stole their organs and dead bodies! Shame on you!" he wrote.
In another post on X, included in the complaint, Abdulsalam described Hamas as "the Palestinian Resistance and the only military force in the world that is standing up courageously against Israel to defend the Palestinians."
"Hamas is the official government of the Gaza Strip; it is not merely a resistance movement; it is the elected government in Palestine," Abdulsalam wrote on X/Twitter in a separate instance in November 2023. "This is why the Israeli intelligence is trying to spread the world around how terrorist Hamas is and now killing all #Palestinian children so they will not grow up to resist like their parents. #HappyThanksgiving."
Toronto mayoral candidate faces a disciplinary proceeding from Canadian engineering organization
Abdulsalam added in a separate post that Zionists “have a feeling of superiority over others and they imagine that living in the West makes them superior to those living in the East or that being white makes them superior than being brown."
“Those kinds of individuals don’t even spend their time educating themselves about the lies of mainstream media to portray Hamas as the aggressors; they keep repeating the funny lies like Hamas beheaded babies that were proven to be lies," she wrote.
In other social media posts in the same period, Abdulsalam wrote in one post that “Zionism is way more cruel than the Nazis," and that “Palestinians ethnic cleansing 2023 is a continuation of the Holocaust."
She then claimed that “Hitler and Netanyahu are two faces of the same coin."
Abdulsalam decries disciplinary hearings for her comments on Israel-Hamas War
In a public statement published on social media on July 14, 2026, regarding the proceedings, Abdulsalam stated: "I am before a discipline tribunal because of what I posted, in my own name and on my own time, about political and social questions, questions of war and peace, of conscience, and of parents and children."
Abdulsalam contested the jurisdiction of the engineering regulator over off-duty political speech, stating "A regulator's authority exists to protect the public from unsafe engineering. It was never granted to superintend the political conscience of the people it licenses."
In connection with her defense, Abdulsalam stated that she has served a notice of constitutional question to the attorneys general of Canada and Ontario, challenging the provisions used against her under sections 2(a) and 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms regarding freedom of conscience, religion, and expression.
Abdulsalam is a professional engineer and community advocate whose background includes professional practice in engineering alongside active involvement in civic and educational matters. Abdulsalam previously ran for mayor of Toronto in the June 2023 by-election, where she placed 14th out of 102 candidates.
Abdulsalam’s mayoral platform centers heavily on progressive domestic initiatives alongside prominent pro-Palestinian advocacy, including her participation and announcements at public events such as the Walk Against Israel demonstration. Her campaign platform page explicitly calls to impose a two-way arms embargo on Israel, demands that Canada end its involvement in illegal Israeli settlements, seeks to address anti-Palestinian racism while protecting freedom of expression regarding Palestine, advocates for Canada to recognize the state of Palestine, and urges proper funding for relief efforts in Gaza, including through UNRWA.
The tribunal hearings continue as Abdulsalam pursues her campaign for the upcoming Toronto mayoral election. Announcing on social media on August 3, 2026, Abdulsalam stated that the hearings are scheduled to continue on August 10 and August 13.
In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, Simon Wolle, B'nai Brith Canada's Chief Executive Officer, said that his organization was
"B'nai Brith is appalled by Bahira Abdulsalam's social media posts expressing support, in explicit terms, for Hamas, a listed terrorist organization in Canada.
"Her posts, which also regurgitate classic antisemitic conspiracy theories, reflect views that reject Canada's multicultural values and democratic society. As antisemitism is becoming normalized in Canada, such comments exacerbate hate and contribute to the crisis afflicting Jewish communities across the country. Abdulsalam's statements raise questions about her fitness to hold public office and to serve as Toronto's mayor.”
The ongoing controversy surrounding Abdulsalam's candidacy and regulatory proceedings coincides with a surge of escalating tensions and security threats targeting Jewish and diplomatic institutions across Canada. Over the past month, the Canadian Jewish community has faced a wave of intimidation and violence, marked most notably by a suspected arson attack that burned down the popular kosher restaurant Nöam in Montreal, drive-by shootings and vandalism targeting Jewish-owned Kiva's Bagel Bar locations in Toronto, and a gunfire incident directed at the US Consulate facility in Toronto.